


Wasted

by Theamazingfandomunicorn



Series: What ifs-The Avengers [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Harold Barton's A+ Parenting, Harold Barton's a shit dad, Harold Barton's a shitty person in general, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-18
Updated: 2016-04-18
Packaged: 2018-06-03 02:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6593572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theamazingfandomunicorn/pseuds/Theamazingfandomunicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if?<br/>What if Edith Barton just had enough?<br/>Plot loosely based on Wasted by Carrie Underwood.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wasted

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism welcome as always.

That night Harold had come back drunk again. The stress at work had been too much, so he drowned his sorrows in the same way he had been doing for the last few years. But this time. This time was different. Sure, there was usually a lot of shouting and the odd punch or slap at Edith, nothing she thought was too serious.

This time he strode in the door at 1:00 in the morning smelling like cheap perfume and beer, the bastard hadn't even tried to hide it, since he still had hot pink lipstick smeared across his lips, face and shirt.

Edith knew better to comment on his obvious adultery, in fact he'd been coming home like this a lot in the past few months, and working late. He'd been working late a lot. It broke Edith's heart, no matter what he did, she still loved him. It broke her heart, and they both knew, but they both pretended it wasn't there.

Edith braced herself for the abuse and punches that were sure to come her way. But instead he just pushed her aside and headed straight upstairs to the boys' room.

Against her better judgement, she ran up the stairs after him and tried to grab ahold of his sleeve, but all she got in return was a push that was so powerful that it sent her down four steps and an angry murmur that sounded suspiciously like 'slut'. Edith ran back up the stairs, in an effort to stop him, but she was too late.

She could heard the screams and shouts of pain and the drunken yells of her abusive husband, as she stood there, helpless against the sheer force of her husband when he is drunk, she decided to leave.

She just couldn't take it anymore. She was going to leave with her sons tonight, as soon as Harold fell asleep. It was reasonably easy. Harold was a heavy sleeper when he drank and often snored very loudly. She would call her mum to inform her of their arrival, her mother was a caring person and had never really liked Harold much in the first place. She would pack a suitcase of her and her sons' belongings and hit the road in the fastest car she had, a Land Rover. So, that as soon as Harold found the Dear John letter she had left him on the dining table, she would be long gone on the other side of the country. Once she had woken the boys, it didn't take much to convince them, since Barney was nearly 15 and Clint would be 13 next month.

And so they crept out of the back door and got into the Lamd Rover after emptying the snacks cupboard and the sweets the boys had stashed away underneath their beds, they hit the road.

After they turned out of the town and into the neighbouring village, she felt a sense of relief mixed with a newfound sense of freedom, a feeling she hadn't had in a long, long time. She would be lying if she said that she didn't have thoughts about turning the car around, but then she realised that coming crying back would only make things worse than they were before.

Thankfully, Lady Luck was on her side as the roads were pretty much deserted and by dawn, she had reached the state of California, where her mother lived. She had a warm welcome and felt safe and carefree for the first time in a while.

It was a stark contrast to home where, at 9:30 in the morning, Harold woke from a deep, undisturbed slumber whith a pounding headache, but the familiar smell of his wife's breakfast, nor the noisy clatter of his two boys running to catch the school bus or to finish homework for the first lesson of the morning greeted him. He lumbered down the stairs to see what the actual hell was going on. He walked over to the dining table where a sheet of paper lay.

 _Dear Harold,_  It read.

_I know with all the stress of work, this really isn't what you need right now, but I just can't take it anymore._

_I still love you and I wish I could put things right, but our marriage is broken beyond repair right now and this was my only option. I know you will say that of only I told you about this, and, believe you me, I would if I could, but I guess I was too afraid._

_I've got to stop now, or I'll be rambling on for pages. But I think that this will be best for both of us. I just want you to know that I still love you and that this is tearing me apart._

_Goodbye._

_Signed,_

_Edith._

"What?" Harold yelled.

This was impossible. She couldn't, she wouldn't. No. 

Then images from last night flashed past his eyes in quick succession.

Stumbling in the door.

Pushing Edith down the stairs.

Beating his boys until his knuckles were almost as bloody and bruised as their noses.

He realised how quiet she'd been, he remembered how he could hear the faint roar of an engine, driving into the night.

He reached for a bottle of whiskey, but about halfway into it, he realised this wasn't doing anything to numb the unbearable aching pain in his chest. Then he realised this was why she left, the affairs started one night when he was drunk and then he couldn't stop, this is the reason why he became abusive, this was the reason.

He stumbled to the bathroom and poured the remaining drink into the sink. Then, he went over to the drinks cabinet and emptied the rest of the content of the offending drink into the sink.

And at that moment in time, no matter how far apart they were, they realised that they had spent all of this time wasted, and that they didn't want to spend anymore of it like that. 

 


End file.
